Water-closet.



No. 654,:61. Patented July 24, |900.

.1. Kmv, 1n.

WATER CLUSVET. (Application led Sept. 23, 1899.)

(No Model.) 2' Sheets-Sheer l,

Invia n. n 11 Ww N0. 654,|6|. Patented July 24, |900.

J. KIRBY, 1n. WATER CLOSET.

(Application led Sept. 23, l1.899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Inventur xiv ATES: v T/LMAM Nrrn JOHN KIRBY, JR., OF DAYTON, OHIO,ASSIGNOR TO THE DAYTON MANUFAO- TUBING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

WATER-CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 654,161, dated July24, 1900.

Application tiled September 23, 1899. Serial No. 731,410. KNO model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KIRBY, Jr., a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vater-Olosets; and I dohereby declare that the following is a clear, full, and exactdescription of the invention.

My invention relates to valves for water- Io closets and mechanism foroperating the same.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, andefficient spring-retracting valve and mechanism attached to the seat orlid of the closet for operating the same, whereby water communicationwith the closet will be established by movement of the seat or lidthereof; and it consists in certain novel features of construction andarrangezo ment of parts, as hereinafter fully described, pointed out inthe claims at the end of this specication, and shown in the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part hereof, and in which- Figure l is a rearperspective View of the closet, a portion of the hopper being brokenaway to show the bowl; Fig. 2, a side view of the valve and its openingmechanism, showing a portion of the hopper in section through 3o theiiushing-inlet and coupling, also showing in cross-section through thecenter line of the valve the supports at the rear of the hopper andportions of the seat and lid hinged to the same, the seat being shown bysolid lines in a semi-elevated position during its upward movement andthe valve-stem depressed, and by dotted lines in raised and loweredpositions with the valve-stem released; Fig. 3, a vertical sectionalView 4o through the center of the valve and its supporting-bracket, theupper part of the valvestem and its curved cross-arm being shown infull, Fig. 4, a vertical sectional view through the center of the valveand connecting-necks looking toward the rear, the upper part of thevalve-stem and its curved cross-arm being shown in full; Fig a sectionthrough line X X of Fig. 4 looking down; Fig. 6, a perspective view ofthe valve-operating arm 5o detached from the lid; Fig. 7, a plan view ofthe same, and Fig. S a side view thereof with the forward sideV of thearm broken away.

Similar letters and numerals of reference indicate corresponding partsthroughout all the figures.

My invention is especially applicable to water-closets designed moreparticularly for use in railway-cars and other places where the supplyof water for flushing the closet is carried in tanks, therebynecessitating econ- 6o omy in the use thereof; but it is not limited toany particular source of Water-supply, and it is equally applicable toclosets provided with dumping service-pans-such, for example, as isshown and described in United States Letters Patent No. 596,070-suchclosets being usually provided with a seat mounted above the hopper anda lid mounted above the seat. l have shown and will describe herein myinvention applied to such con- 7o struction.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents the hopper, provided with theusual inner bowl a and a flange b, by which flange the hoppermay besecured to the ioor. A flushing-chamber c extend arounds the hopper andis provided with a series of perforations d, through which water passesfrom the chamber to the interior of the hopper and iiushes the same.Communicating with this 8o chamber there is a water-inlet e, having oneend of a screw-threaded hollow sleeve B secured therein and by means ofwhich the valve is connected with the hopper in the usual manner. Abovethe hopper and resting on its top there is a seat O, hinged to asupporting-shelf D, which is cut away to accommodate the operatingmechanism, as shown. Above the seat there is a lid E, hinged to asupporting-shelf F, located im- 9o mediately over the shelf D andrecessed, as shown at f, to receive the operating mechanism. It isevident, however, that by using suitably-constructed hinges the lidmaybe hinged to the shelf D, in which case the shelf F may be dispensedwith; also, that D and'F may be formed of a single piece, if desired,although I prefer the construction shown, and in which construction itwill be observed that the operating mechanism and valve are roo obscuredfrom view. The supports D and F may be secured to the hopper by brackets(not shown) or otherwise, or they may be secured to a wall or partitionor other part of the car or other structure in which the closet islocated. G is the valve-casing, open atiitslowcr end and having abracket g and strengthening-ribs h and which is also provided with aplate t', by which the casing is secured to the under side of the shelfD. The valve-casin g is also provided with hollow connecting-necks j andk, neck j being coupled to a supply-pipe H, leading from a suitablesource of water-supply and coupled to the valve by a union-couplin g Iin the usual m anner. The neck c'of the valve-casing and the neck B areconnected by means o f an elbow J, (preferably rubber,) having a liangeZ at each end, as shown at one end in Fig. 2, and

coupling-nuts K and L.

As the means for connecting the valve with the water-supply and hopperform no part of my invention, I will not further describe the same.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the interior of the valve-casin g is dividedinto two compartments consisting of an inlet-chamber m and anoutlet-chamber n, the separation being formed by a transverse partitiono and an inclined partition p, whereby passage-way q is formed andthrough which water from the supply-pipe H can enter the chamber m, asindicated by the arrow l. The partition o is provided with an opening o'and an annular downwardly-projecting flange s, forming a seat for avalve M, having downwardly and npwardly'projecting stems t and u, joinedtogether, as shown, for convenience in manufacturin g. The lower end ofthe valve-Casin g is closed by acap u", having a downwardlyprojectingbored shank w, closed at the bottom and containing a spiral spring ai,one end of which rests on the bottom of said shank and the other endhaving a bearing against the lower end of the valve-stem t, which ismovable in the bore of said shank and is guided thereby. In the top ofthe valvecasing there is formed a downwardly-projecting interiorscrew-threaded neck y, through thebottom of which the upper stem u ofthe valve passes,and an interiorly-scre w-threaded packing-nut 2surrounds the said stem u and engages the thread of the neck y, thusforming a stuing-box which contains suitable packing 3 to preventleakage.

At the top end of the valve-stem u there is a curved arm 4, arranged tobe acted upon by a f rictionroller 5, journaled in a swinging frame 6,mounted on a pin 7 in a bifurcated or i double operating-arm 8, whichextends l from a plate N, and which plate is secured to the-under sideof the lid E. At the outer end of this operating-arm and extendingacross the same there is a bridge 9, which serves to strengthen the armand also forms a stopto limit the upward movement of the frame 6,

and against which stop the said frame is held by a spring 10, coiledaround the `pin 7 and having one of its ends passing through said pinand the other of its ends bearing against the under side of bridge 9, asmore clearly shown in Fig. 7, the spring being so coiled and arranged asthat its tendency to unwind itself will raise the frame 6 to thepositions shown in Figs. l, 6, 7, and 8. The outer ends of thebifurcated or double arm S are enlarged to extend beyond the roller 5,and when the parts are assembled, as shown in Fig. 1, these enlargedportions extend down over the sides of the curved arm 4 of thevalve-stem u and retain the latter in proper relation with the roller 5while it travels backward and forward over the said curved arms. (SeeFig. 2.)

The operation of the above-described mechanism is as follows: When thelid Eis down, as shown in Fig. 1, the roller 5 is at rest and the valveis closed and so held by the spring and as the lid is raised the rollerwilltravel over the curved arm, the curvature of which is such as tocause the roller to depress the valve-stems and open the valve, whichallows water to enter the chamber n, as indicated by Vthe arrows 2 inFig. 4, and iiow through the inlet e into the iiushing-chamber c `andthence through the perforations d into and over the inner surface of thebowl ct of the hopper A, thereby flushing the closet. radius in whichthe roller 5 travels isgoverned by the pintles of the hinges by whichthe lid is hinged to the shelf F, and the valve mechanism is so arrangedthat when the lid` begins to swing upward the downward movement of theoperating-arm 8 will cause the roller 5 to act upon the curved arm 4,thereby depressing the valve-stems and opening the valve, ashereinbefore recited, and this operation will continue until the lidreaches a position which frees theV curved arm from the roller, as shownby dotted lines in Fig. 2, when the pressure of the spring will closethevalve and shut off the water from the closet. Then as the lid isclosed the frame 6 being free to swing on the pin 7 in an` oppositedirection and against the pressure of the spring l0, (the latter beingof lessresistance than the spring 413,) the "alve will be held closedduring the downward movement of the lid and until the latter is raisedagain, when the roller 5 will be in position to rengagethe curved arm 4and open the valve upon the next raising of the lid.

It is obvious that by locating the stop or bridge 9 on the under side ofthe operating arm 8 and reversing the spring 10 the valve will open onthe downward movement ofthe lid instead of its upward movement, as abovedescribed; also, that by dispensing with the frame 6 and mounting theroller 5 directly in the operating-arm, lengthened accordingly, the`valve may be arranged to open on both the upward and downward movementsof the `The IOO

IIO

lid, and that with slight mechanical changes the valve-operating arm maybe applied to the seat and the lid dispensed with.

Various other modifications in structural details may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention. Therefore I do not limit myinvention to the exact construction shown and described.

I claim- 1. In a water-closet, the combination of a hopper and a seat orlid hinged above it to a suitable support, a spring-retracted valvelocated below said support and having a projecting stem, an arm or headat the outer end of said stem, a horizontally-disposed arm secured tothe under side of said seat or lid and projecting rearwardly therefrom,and a device movably connected to said arm and adapted to operativelyengage said arm or head and open said valve when said seat or lid ismoved in one direction and to move out of operative engagement with saidarm or head when said seat or lid is moved in an opposite direction,substantially as set forth.

2. In a water-closet, the combination of a hopper and a seat or lidhinged above it to a suitable support, a spring-retracted valve securedto said support on the under side thereof and having a projecting stem,an arm or head at the outer end of said stem, a horizontally-disposedarm secured to the under side of said seat or lid and projectingrearwardly therefrom, and a device movably connected to said arm andadapted to operatively engage said arm or head and open said valve whensaid seat or lid is moved in one direction and to move out of operativeengagement with said arm or head when said seat or lid is moved in anopposite direction, substantially as set forth.

3. In a water-closet, the combination of a hopper and a seat or lidhinged above it to a suitable support, a valve-casing carried by saidsupport and having a valve-seat therein, a spring retracted valveadapted to close against said valve-seat and having a stem projectingthrough said casing, a cross-arm at the outer end of said stem, ahorizontallydisposed arm rigidly secured, to the under side of said seator lid and extending rearwardly therefrom, and a device movablyconnected to said arm and adapted to traverse said cross-arm and tocoact therewith to open said valve by movement of said seat or lid inone direction and to move out of operative engagement therewith whensaid seat or lid is moved in an opposite direction, substantially as setforth.

4. In a water-closet, the combination of a hopper and a seat or lidhinged above it to a suitable support, a valve-casing secured to theunder side of said support and having inlet and outlet chambers andconnections, a valve-seat arranged within said casing, a springretracted valve adapted to close against said seat and having a stemprojecting through said casing, a cross-arm attached to said stem at theouter end thereof, a horizontally-disposed arm attached to said seat orlid and extending rearwardly therefrom, and a device movably connectedto said arm and adapted to operatively engage said crossarin and therebyopen said valve by movement of said seator lid in one direction and tomove out of engagement therewith when the same is moved in an oppositedirection,- substantially as set forth.

5. In a water-closet, the combination of a hopper and a seat or lidhinged above it to a suitable support, and a valve-casing located belowsaid support and having a bracket by which it is secured thereto, meanswhereby the said casing is connected to the hopper, a spring-retractedvalve arranged within said casing, a horizontally-disposed arm securedto said seat or lid and extending rearwardly therefrom, and a devicemovably connected to said arm and adapted to operatively engage with andopen said valve by movement of said seat or lid in one direction and tomove out of operative engagement therewith when the same is moved in anopposite direction, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 21st day ofSeptember, 1899.

JOHN KIRBY, JR.

Witnesses:

N. EMMoNs, Jr., H. S. MILLER.

